Prevent That New Year's Hangover

There are some people, like a good friend of mine, who never get hangovers. I am not one of those people. If I have a glass and a half of champagne, I will feel bells chiming in my head the whole next day.

To avoid a hangover, my family doctor tells me not to drink. But sometimes, she's no fun. Here are a few other ways to deal with--and hopefully prevent--this season's New Year's hangover.

Here are some helpful hangover prevention tips I just found on Medical News Today. I've also added my personal favorite:

Don't keep up with him. Men metabolize alcohol faster, and they have more body weight. They can usually handle more alcohol than women can.

Drink lighter-colored hooch. The darker the color of the alcoholic beverage, the more chemicals it may have in it. Lighter colors have less chemicals and may give you less of a hangover.

Mix your drinks. Have one drink of booze, then one regular drink. Drink them slowly. Eat food. This helps reduce the concentration of alcohol in your stomach.

Take Alka-Seltzer before sleeping. This is my prevention tool of choice that I got from the comments section of a story I posted called Party Hard Hangover Cures. Marine88Mom wrote that she's been a nurse for 22 years, and "If you drink two Alka-Seltzers just before you go to bed....POOF...No harsh hangover! " I've tried this advice after recent holiday cocktail parties with much success.

Get sleep. Part of what makes a hangover so bad is the sleep deprivation. And alcohol makes it harder to get your Zzzz's uninterupted. Easier said than done, though, right? Just don't drink too much, and you'll sleep better.

I have very low-key, family-oriented plans this New Year's Eve. The kids and I are going to the Big Apple Circus. This year, fingers crossed, I'll avoid the dreaded hangover. Do you think you'll be hungover this Thursday?